A six-week-old baby was among 15 people who have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, local health officials said, with malnutrition now killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war.
The infant died at a hospital ward in northern Gaza, the health officials said, naming him as Yousef al-Safadi.
His uncle, Adham al-Safadi, told news agency Reuters Yousef’s family couldn’t find baby formula to feed him.
“You can’t get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it’s $100 for a tub,” he said, looking at his dead nephew.
Three of the others were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The other two children were not named.
Palestinian health officials say at least 101 people have died of hunger during the conflict, including 80 children, with most of them in recent weeks.
Israel controls all aid supplies into the war-ravaged enclave, where most of the population has been displaced multiple times and faces acute shortages of basic necessities.
Israel’s handling of aid in the Palestinian enclave has been sharply criticised, with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday joining the foreign ministers of 27 other countries in calling for an immediate end to the conflict and an increase in the flow of aid.
Israel controls the flow of all aid into Gaza. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
Shelling killed another 16 people living in tents in Gaza City on Tuesday, as Israeli troops launched attacks across the strip, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of any incident, or artillery in the area at that time.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 72 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes in the past 24 hours.
Israel says its assault on Gaza aims to destroy Hamas, which waged the deadliest attack in Israel’s history on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,200 Israelis including civilians, by its tallies.
Israeli bombs and gunfire have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza since then, according to local health authorities.
The US says at least 600 trucks full of aid need to enter Gaza daily to feed its population. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
Israel says aid ‘a matter of utmost importance’
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.
“No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.
Australia condemns Israel as civilian death toll climbs
There has been international condemnation of mass killings of civilians and dire shortages of aid in Gaza, but no action that has yet stopped the conflict, or significantly increased supplies.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were “unbearable” and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation, but did not say what action European countries would take.
Israel’s military said that it “views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance”, and works to facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community.
It has denied accusations it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza and has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing food, an allegation Hamas denies.
Daily food gathering has become a deadly task for Gazans, with one UN agency estimating that more than 1,000 people have died while trying to receive food aid since May.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered Gaza over the course of the war.
The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gaza’s population.
Reuters
